By Symptoms

Sick birds are given their best chance of being saved by adding an appropriate medicine into the ER/Quik Gel formula and administering it directly by crop needle.

At the same time, whilst waiting for the final outcome of veterinary tests, adding Quik Gel to the drinking water may temporarily protect healthy in-contact birds.

First aid medicines are “guestimated” from the following list of medicine / symptom options.

Emergency First Aid Medicine Options

The symptoms are used to “guestimate” the first choice of medicine. The correct medicine choice is confirmed by a positive response of the sick bird to the medicine or from the results of veterinary testing.

The probability of selecting the correct medicine is improved by knowledge of the symptoms and behaviour of the various diseases.

Sulfa-type Antibiotic (Sulfadimadine / Trimethoprim)

Sulfa-type antibiotics should be selected when:

A sudden cluster of deaths occurs in the flights

Stained vents appear in individual birds

There is an odour associated with the droppings

When the dropping is watery

Penicillin type Antibiotic (Amoxycillin / Tylan)

Penicillin-type antibiotics should be selected when a sudden illness is associated with:

Feather staining above the nostrils

Vomiting after cold weather

White or brown droppings

French Moult and Yellow Belly

Pasted vents

Doxycycline hydrochloride Antibiotic (Doxycycline 10%)

Doxycycline-type antibiotics should be selected when:

Intermittent deaths & recurrent diseases occur throughout the stud

There is widespread infertility or poor breeding results

Anti-fungal Medicine (Amphotericin B)

Antifungal medicines should be selected when an illness is associated with:

Black or brown and large droppings linked with weight loss

The presence of mould on droppings

Baytril (Enrofloxacin)

Enrofloxacin-like antibiotics should be selected when an illness is associated with:

Mice infestation

Contaminated food

Canker Medicines (Ronidasole & Metronidasole)

Canker-type medicines should be selected when:

There is vomiting, sudden severe illness with dark green droppings often starting in related birds

Watery, smelly droppings of breeding birds

Water Cleansers & Water Buffers (Water Buffers or Citric acid)

Water Cleansers should be used:

In the drinking water to protect all in-contact healthy birds whilst a diagnosis is being confirmed

Following a disease to disinfect the flights breeding cabinets, water and food containers

Water Buffers should be used:

Whenever there is wet weather or when large droppings appear in the flights

Medicine Options for the Flights

Flights crowded with young birds are especially susceptible to illness because of the fierce competition for feed and rest.

At this time often the birds “just don’t look right” and it is difficult to know whether or not to use medicines.

At the first signs of large droppings, Quik Gel should be given to the flock before thinking about using antibiotics.

Veterinary dropping tests are the best means for determine an appropriate antibiotic.

At the First Signs of Illness in the Flights

Isolate sick birds for individual emergency first aid treatment

Select a medicine from the symptoms and add to ER/Quik Gel, then administer by a crop needle

Add Quik Gel into the drinking water of all other birds whilst waiting for the diagnosis from veterinary tests or response to the “treatment trial”

Clean then disinfect or blow-torch floors of flights

The correct choice of medicine is confirmed by a positive response of the sick bird to the selected antibiotic. The entire flock (except breeding pairs) should receive this antibiotic medicine when two or more birds have died within a two-week long period

Antibiotic choice is incorrect and should be changed when the ill bird fails to respond after 48 hours of emergency first aid treatment. By this time veterinary tests should have returned a definitive diagnosis and indicate the best antibiotic to use

Medicine Options for Breeding Cabinets

Individual breeding cabinet rather than flock treatment is the best approach for most breeding problems as most diseases of the breeding season reflect the health status of the individual pairs rather than the entire flock.

It is far better to treat individual pairs in their individual breeding cabinets and to avoid flock treatment when problems occur in the breeding cabinet. Exceptions to this rule occur when food contamination infects all breeding pairs and when Psittacosis and French Moult are seriously impacting on breeding performance.

Flock treatment for the breeding birds is given only for those diseases transmitted through the air or food (French Moult, Aspergillosis, Mite Infestations and Psittacosis) and is not recommended for other diseases such as Canker and Megabacteria which reflect a weakness in individual pairs.

At the First Signs of Illness in the Breeding Cabinets

Treat the individual bird in the breeding cabinet with ER/Quik Gel and selected antibiotic by crop needle

Add Quik Gel and selected antibiotic to the drinking water of the affected breeding cabinet

Clean and disinfect the affected breeding cabinet

Mix Quik Gel into the drinking water of all other breeding cabinets

The correct choice of medicine is confirmed by dropping tests or a positive response of the sick bird to the selected medicine. This medicine is then given in the drinking water of in-contact breeding birds but not to the entire breeding room

Medicines are stopped but crop feeding continued when the ill bird fails to respond after 48 hours of treatment. By this time the veterinary tests should have returned the diagnosis and the best treatment

Dr Rob’s Products

To order the products mentioned in this article, please use the links on the Dr Robert Marshall page.